They all do it. Advertise free phones or phones for $0.99, then charge you $36.00 when you take the bait. No way out of it. I think it's time for a couple of lawyers to try for a $50 million dollar payday and do the old class action lawsuit thing so I can get a coupon for $2.00 off an accessory.

Everyone needs to contact the FCC and complain. I just did today and see if they will put a stop to this. We had nothing to do with the t-mobile deal and we shouldn't be punished. I am also going to call AT&T and tell them when my contracts are up I am switching to a carrier that doesn't have a upgrade fee!

If I could use my Iphone 4S on a prepaid carrier I would compared to paying all those stupid fees. I know Verizon don't charge a upgrade fee. Guess I will be switching. $36.00 dollars to upgrade with AT&T or $36.00 for activation and no upgrade fees. Looks good to me!!!!

Imagine it as part of the package. phone price + upgrade fees. It all boils down to the fact that having a phone service nowadays is expensive.. you either go phoneless or pay the fees.AND yes, whether its to a higher type of phone or to a lower type of phone.. its still called upgrade and they charge $36.

It has nothing to do with the Tmobile deal, seriously people? Do any of you actually know what the prices for phones are without a contract? Do you, seriously? lol prob not. None of my customers at At&t have even complained....why.... because they have amazing service and great selections of phones that are WAY cheaper then the other providers. I have 4g smartphones, yes we have 4g, that are free, $20, $30... Top of the line devices.... ok thats what yall get with a contract but what does At&t pay for them.... A LOT! We dont get a huge discount, we pay around $300 + for them! Smartphone prices are going up and therefor the upgrade fees are going up! What happens when gas prices go up? Food prices go up etc. It all makes since. And as far as ...(continues)

I take those upgrade phones and sell them to pay for our International SGS II i9100s and put them on a the $10 MediaNet plan and save $480 per year on Data. No LTE here for years anyway. WE may just dump ATT and go to Straight talk for Unlimited everything at $45 a month. Same 3G speeds as MediaNet. ATT cannot register every IMEI of every device in the world.

Been doing it for years since Cingular.

Saved a pile of money and have a better Phone than ATT offers. We have two upgrades coming in April. I will be glad to pick up and sell a couple iPhone 5s when they arrive.